New Releases

Malini Ambach

Heidelberg University Publishing, 2026

Multifarious Sacred Geographies provides an in-depth examination of the sacred geography of the South Indian temple city of Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram’s exceptionally diverse religious landscape, with its more than four hundred temples, is documented in numerous Sanskrit and Tamil texts that extol the city. Malini Ambach examines three of these celebratory Sanskrit Sthalamāhātmyas in detail for the first time, comparing them with one another in terms of their depictions of Kanchipuram’s literary geographies. The Sthalamāhātmyas link mythology with the local physical landscape and, each shaped by the perspective of a specific religious tradition, describe the same sacred space—Kanchipuram—while constructing both shared and contradictory conceptions of the temple city. (Publisher’s description)

Stefan Pfänder

Heidelberger Akademische Bibliothek
Stuttgart, Alfred Kröner Verlag, 2026

Conversations don’t follow a script: In meetings, counseling, or caregiving, solutions arise in the moment—they are “improvised”. Stefan Pfänder shows what conversation research has to say about improvisation—and how voice, eye contact, gestures, and rhythm help us navigate difficult situations. Six vivid case studies (ranging from children’s play to dementia and trauma) combine theory, illustrations, and the analysis of authentic conversation examples. A linguistically grounded, accessible guide for everyday life and work. (Publisher’s description)

Albrecht Winnacker

Heidelberger Akademische Bibliothek
Stuttgart, Alfred Kröner Verlag, 2025

“Silicon Valley” is the birthplace and headquarters of major technology companies such as Apple, Google, and Intel; “silicon technology” is the foundation of major technical innovations, including artificial intelligence, based on the spectacular development of “chips”; there is even talk of the “Silicon Age.” However, this one-sided emphasis on an electronic material does not do justice to the technical reality. While electronic silicon does indeed form the material basis for the key technologies of our time, it is becoming clear that silicon-based electronics is by no means superior to other solutions in technological fields such as e-mobility, photovoltaics, or high-frequency communications technology; for important applications such as the generation of light for illumination or optical data transmission, it is in fact entirely unsuitable.
This booklet explores the challenges surrounding electronic materials in today’s technological landscape under the motto: “Silicon isn’t everything!” (Publisher’s description)

Julia Burkhardt (ed.), Isabel Kimpel (ed.)

Heidelberg, Heidelberg University Publishing, 2025

The Cistercian monk Caesarius of Heisterbach (ca. 1180–1240) is one of the best-known authors of the Middle Ages. His “Eight Books of Miracles” (Libri VIII miraculorum) are a collection of material intended to instruct, edify, and serve as a warning: tales of saints and demons, of people and animals, of small miracles and great misfortunes. In his stories, Caesarius takes his audience on a journey that leads from the Rhineland to the Baltic region and on to Jerusalem. The result is a multifaceted panorama of the political, social, and religious developments of the 13th century.
The new edition of the “Eight Books of Miracles” offers an annotated version of the Latin text, a German translation for the first time, and an analysis of the work and its manuscript tradition. (Publisher’s description)

Michael Erler

Heidelberger Akademische Bibliothek
Stuttgart, Alfred Kröner Verlag, 2025

Anyone who studies ancient texts has likely been confronted at some point with the question of the relevance of such reading. Modern philology has given this matter much thought. The aim here is to recall that this question was also raised in antiquity—and how it was addressed. This is prompted by more recent evidence from the context of Epicurean philosophy, in which a philological engagement with texts is linked to the claim that one should consider not only the text itself but also the relevance of the reading for its audience. This attitude will perplex modern philologists. One might be inclined to regard it as yet another distinctive feature of the Epicurean school. Upon closer inspection, however, it proves to be a facet of ancient reading culture that can be traced all the way to the Imperial period and whose characteristics are already discussed to some extent in Plato. This “active” mode of reading also deserves attention because structural elements of ancient texts apparently appeal to this reading attitude and take on their distinct character in light of it. By presupposing and reflecting on the reader’s responsibility for the constitution and interpretation of texts, it provides a historical backdrop for modern positions (“The Birth of the Reader”) and may also offer an ancient contribution to the modern debate on utility. (Publisher’s description)

What Can We Learn from Paleolithic Art?

Miriam Noël Haidle, Nicholas J. Conard, Sibylle Wolf, Martin Porr (Eds.)

Heidelberg, Heidelberg University Publishing, 2025

The concept of “Paleolithic art” and research into it have changed significantly in recent decades. The modern concept of “art” is problematic across cultures and over time. The phenomenon cannot be reduced to material visual culture but also has acoustic, haptic, and other dynamic aspects. It must be understood as a diversity of processes that can encompass both the everyday and the extraordinary. In this volume, archaeologists, philosophers, and anthropologists approach “Paleolithic art” from various perspectives, including its conceptualization, aesthetics, and relationships to art history and art brut. The contributions address the challenge posed by materiality, evolutionary aspects, physical reenactment by actors, and digital technologies as means of interpreting art objects, as well as the preservation of cultural heritage. The volume offers innovative insights into past practices and contemporary ideas and approaches related to Paleolithic art, based on careful empirical research combined with reflective and sophisticated theoretical approaches.